“I cannot recall a time when a narrator has brought this much focus on migraine disease with such apt descriptions,” Janet wrote in her Migraine.com review of the novel We Were Liars.

I had similar thoughts when I read the book a month ago (at Janet’s recommendation). The descriptions were so good that I highlighted passage after passage, eager to share them with you. Here are a couple:

“Welcome to my skull. A truck is rolling over the bones of my neck and head. The vertebrae break, the brains pop and ooze. A thousand flashlights shine in my eyes. The world tilts. I throw up. I black out. This happens all the time. It’s nothing but an ordinary day.”

“‘You have no idea what it feels like to have headaches like this. No idea. It hurts,’ I say—and I realize tears are running down my face, though I’m not sobbing. “’It makes it hard to be alive, some days. A lot of times I wish I were dead, I truly do, just to make the pain stop.’”

Then I got to the twist for which the book is known. The power of these incredible descriptions was diffused by a stereotype that, while not untrue, is a major contributor to migraine’s stigma. So much so that all the positive regard I’d had for the book’s depictions of migraine was gone. For me, no matter how elegant and accurate the descriptions, they can’t cancel out the harmful message I fear the book ultimately spreads about migraine.

I was so eager to have a wildly popular book raise some awareness of the severity of migraine that maybe I expected too much. Still, I’m disappointed. I’d like to say more, but don’t want to risk spoiling the book for anyone — it’s a great read.

That’s my take, which is probably a minority opinion among migraineurs. Have you read We Were Liars? What do you think of how it depicts migraine? (No spoilers, please!)

Welcome to Kerrie Smyres' writings about chronic migraine, headache disorders, chronic illness & depression. Here you'll find coping strategies, resources, news & more to help you live a fabulous life with chronic illness.